Monday, January 28, 2008

From the Yahoo group OneCommonFaithI discover Robert Stockman's summary of the contents of the seminal Baha'i text One Common Faith, a document commissioned by the Universal House of Justice, and published under its supervision by the Bahá’í World Center in 2005. Here is an excerpt. -gw

Section 12: The Response of the Baha'i Community to Humanity's Crisis

20. The Baha'i Cause is equipped to address the challenges facing it. The community's nature and achievements on their own justify the attention of anyone seriously concerned about the crisis of civilization. They are evidence that the world's peoples can learn to live and work as a single race in a single global homeland.

21. This fact underlines the urgency of the successive Plans of expansion and consolidation. Humanity has a right to expect that a body of people committed to unity will increasingly contribute to programs of social betterment that depend on unity. The Baha'i community must grow faster and partner with more and more like-minded organizations.

22. The culture of systematic growth taking root in the community seems to be the most effective response to the aforementioned challenges. Intense and ongoing immersion in the Word frees one from materialistic assumptions and develops a capacity to assist the yearnings for unity. The activities are creating a community of interest and will amplify the community's contribution to public discourse.

23. Fulfilling Baha'u'llah's mandate means carrying out two vital and reciprocal activities: teaching and promoting the betterment of society. A person exploring Baha'u'llah's teachings must gain perspective on both the processes of change worldwide and the implications for his own life.

24. The ideal of the oneness of religion is central, but sharing Baha'u'llah's message is not an interfaith project. The soul seeks certitude; the experience of conversion is not extraneous or incidental, but a pivotal issue that must be addressed.